David J. Campbell, superintendent of the Livingston Educational Service Agency;

Curtis E. Finch Jr., superintendent of Mecosta-Osceola Intermediate School District north of Grand Rapids;

Dedrick Martin, Ypsilanti superintendent.

Curtis Finch

The three will have public interviews at the KRESA administration building on Thursday, May 23, at times yet to be determined.

The finalists were selected during a two-hour special meeting Tuesday morning. The board met for about 90 minutes in closed session to review the qualifications of the four applicants and their results on leadership testing and evaluation by
HUMANeX Ventures, a consulting firm that specializes in human resources
issues.

The board declined to interview the fourth applicant, whose name has not been released.

"I think they all bring a lot experience and proven leadership," KRESA Trustee Skip Knowles about the three finalists. The interview process will determine "who is potentially the best fit for our organization and our community."

They said it was clear it was the right decision to do a "targeted" search, where the board obtained a list of eight possible candidates recommended by Fuller and the head of the Michigan Association of
Intermediate School Boards.

The trustees than encouraged those people to apply, which brought forth three of the applicants. The fourth candidate, who was the person the board decided not to interview, applied for the job after it was posted.

Knowles said it was clear that the strong candidate pool was a result of the decision to to actively recruit candidates.

"These were people who weren't necessarily looking for a new job," he said. "It gave us the strongest candidates available."

Campbell, 47, has headed the Livingston Regional Education Service Agency since September 2011 and was superintendent of Olivet Community Schools from 2000 to 2011.

He also has been principal of Olivet High School, and a dean of students and teacher in Bradley, Ill.

Campbell has his bachelor's degree from University of Wisconsin at Whitewater, his master's from Illinois State University and has done additional graduate work at Western Michigan University.

Finch, 49, has headed the Mecosta-Osceola ISD since 2005 and was superintendent of Reese Public Schools from 1999 to 2005.

He also has worked as a secondary administrator in Sault Ste. Marie and Grayling and as an administrator and teacher in Alaska.

He has a bachelor's degree from Seattle Pacific University, a master's from University of Alaska Anchorage and a doctorate from Walden University in Minnesota.

Martin, 40, has been Ypsilanti superintendent since 2009 and before that was a school administrator in Illinois and Texas. He began his career as a special-education teacher.

He has a bachelor's degree from Grand Valley State University and is currently enrolled in a doctoral program at Michigan State University.

The KRESA superintendent oversees the intermediate school district,
which is comprised of the nine school districts based in Kalamazoo
County -- Kalamazoo, Portage, Gull Lake, Vicksburg, Comstock, Parchment,
Galesburg-Augusta, Schoolcraft and Climax-Scotts.

KRESA provides those districts with support services, such as
technology and business services as well as curriculum support. KRESA
also operates countywide special education programs and Education for
Employment and Education for the Arts, which provide specialty
vocational and arts classes for Kalamazoo County high school students.

In addition, the KRESA superintendent traditionally has served as
chief spokesman for the county superintendents on educational issues.

Fuller has a compensation package worth $260,00, including a base salary of $168,140.